Broken Dreams
by Cassidy Alice
Summary: She knew something was wrong, but she wouldn't have guessed it was this. How had it come to this?
1. Part I

_A/N: I'm not usually in the habit of writing fanfictions that revolve solely around OCs, but for this project it was necessary. A dozen or so authors on the KF forum came together to contribute to this project, which was started by Kataangled, who came up with the idea of benders taking the iniative to go to Amon to have their bending removed willingly. A number of writers, myself included, were interested in the idea and got involved, thus leading to the production of "The Equalist Anthology of Conversion Testimonies" which consists of over ten volumes. The cover for the Anthology was designed by the wonderfully talented seluna (Krystalin on DeviantArt) and I highly recommend checking out the amazing cover she drew for the Anthology; besides drawing this cover, she's drawn some lovely ATLA/LoK pieces that deserve to be recognized. ^^ Since the site doesn't allow links within stories, I've posted the link for seluna's art piece for this project on my profile. It was an honor to work with everyone and be inlcuded in this project, so a special thank you to Kataangled, Av, Glitch, MasterFirebender84, puenboy, guyw1tn0nam3, Light-Eco-Sage, A6, quidditchchick, Sailor_Tenchi, Snows of Yester-Year, Opaul, and seluna, without whom this project wouldn't be possible. ^-^_

_This particular fic is rather long, so I've split it into three parts which, hopefully, makes it easier to read. This story, along with several other volumes in the Anthology have been completed, so if anyone would like to read the others, they are available on the KF Forum to read in full and will be posted here (if possible) by the authors when completed. I really hope everyone enjoys this volume and the others that have/will be published. The authors, myself included, spent a great deal of time and put a lot of effort into this project, so I hope our efforts paid off. Enjoy! :)_

_Disclaimer: The Legend of Korra belongs to Mike and Bryan. And I snuck in an Abe Lincoln quote as well, so I can't take credit for that. ^^_

* * *

**The Equalist Anthology of Conversion Testimonies**

**Volume VII: Broken Dreams**

"Waterbending practice again?"

Keera paused in the entryway of the house and looked up to find her twin sister poking her head out of the window of her room and smiling. A gentle breeze was ruffling Kairi's tousled brown hair and the moonlight made it gleam.

"What's it to you?" Keera demanded, smiling and sweeping a strand of her hair behind her face.

Kairi rolled her green eyes. "Just get inside before Mom and Dad find out you snuck out again."

Keera stifled a laugh and made a move for the door, but her sister stopped her.

"It's locked," Kairi informed her, dangling the key that Keera had forgotten to take with her, from her finger. "You'll have to come in the hard way."

"You could just toss me the key," Keera pointed out, laughing.

"I could," Kairi consented, grinning. "But where's the fun in that?"

Muttering under her breath, Keera hoisted herself up the old tree that stood on their tiny plot of land. An old branch extended just outside Kairi's room and as little girls, they would often sneak out of the house that way, but it had been a while since Keera had entered the house like that; she usually had a key for the front door with her. Still, the climb was relatively easy and she was standing in Kairi's room two minutes later.

"You're going to get caught one of these days," Kairi said, closing the window and turning to face her sister. Keera tucked a strand of her raven hair behind her ear and grinned.

"You know Mom and Dad never check on us. And Ling sleeps like a baby anyway," she said, referring to their younger brother.

"I don't know why you sneak out every night to play with water," Kairi teased. "Do you even get anything done?"

"It's _waterbending_," Keera corrected, heading for the door. "And yes, I do."

Kairi crawled into her bed and threw her blanket over her head. "Benders," she huffed. "Whatever. Good night."

"'Night," Keera whispered, making her way to her room. Thankfully, her parents weren't in the habit of checking on their kids in the middle of the night, so Keera never faced problems when she snuck out to waterbend. It seemed silly to think her parents would fall for the old pillow-under-the-bed-sheet trick, but as she slipped into her room, it was clear her parents hadn't even bothered to check on her. Everything was as it had been and Keera stifled a laugh, slipping out of her bending uniform and into her nightgown. It had been a long day, but despite how tired she was, she couldn't fall asleep. So, she sat on her bed, gazing out the window.

Republic City at night was strangely silent. This particular sector of the city hadn't seen nightlife in a good, long while, but Keera enjoyed staying up all the same. As a waterbender, it wasn't uncommon for her to spend the whole night up watching the occasional airship float past as she gazed out the window. Back home, in the South Pole, the nights were almost always still and the only sound to be heard was that of the ocean waves lapping against the shore or the cries of some far off colony of turtle-seals. But here in Republic City, there was always something going on, even if this sector was quiet. Keera sighed and moved to the window-seat, resting her forehead against the pane. She missed the South Pole and, though she'd been living in Republic City for a decade (since she was eight), she still hadn't gotten used to it. Everything was so different and she missed her friends back in the Southern Water Tribe. But since her family's relocation, she knew the possibility of going back was slim and with the secret she carried, it became even slimmer. Unconsciously sighing again, Keera dozed off, dreaming of the rolling ice plains of the South Pole and the soothing sound of the sea.

Mornings were arguably Keera's least favorite part of the day. She was up and ready by dawn and the first one out of the house for work. Her family lived in a modest little house and, though they weren't poor, they needed the money. Keera and Kairi had been working since they were fifteen and their brother Ling had started working with their father at thirteen. Neither of them, save for Ling, liked their job but they weren't about to pass up an opportunity to earn money for the family. So every morning, at the crack of dawn, the twins would leave for work. Today, however, Keera was left to walk alone. Normally, she and Kairi would walk part of the way together before going their separate ways, but Kairi had told her she was working the night shift at her job for the week, so Keera had no one to keep her company as she walked.

"At least one of us gets to sleep in," the waterbender muttered, watching a solitary bird nest upon a lamp post.

Unbeknownst to her, however, Kairi had slipped out of the house and was on her way to one of Republic City's less reputable sectors.

As a nonbender, Kairi had never appreciated bending the way Keera had, but had learned to live with it. Her mother was a waterbender, her father an earthbender, and Keera was the only bender of the three children. In spite of that, Keera had never been the favorite; if anything, their parents had doted on Kairi and their younger brother Ling the most, not that Keera had been loved any less. But Kairi had never regretted not being able to bend and had never resented her sister's ability. In fact, since their relocation to Republic City, Kairi had been helping Keera sneak out at night to practice her waterbending. But things were a little more complicated now.

It was no secret among Kairi, her family, and her close friends, that the young eighteen year old nonbender supported the Equalist movement. She and Keera had been eight year olds when they moved to the city and enrolled in one of its finest schools and right away it was evident that benders had a slight advantage over nonbenders. Being competitive by nature, Kairi had done everything she could to ensure that she was just as good a fighter as Keera and had learned several styles of martial arts as well as chi-blocking. In the school, Kairi had seen nothing of the oppression the Equalist supporters preached about (mostly because benders and nonbenders got along very well), but as she grew older, the signs became clearer. Her father, though he was a bender himself, supported the Equalist movement and though he didn't agree with their methods, often encouraged Kairi to do whatever she could to help bring equality to the city. But, it wasn't until recently that Kairi had joined an underground chapter of the movement. Her father had always said the Equalists would do better to strive for equality in less violent ways than ridding the world of benders, but Kairi thought differently. She didn't approve of all their methods either, but she did think bending was a nuisance and the world would be better off without it. At the very least, Kairi was convinced that the bending triads should've been taken out, especially since Yuan, the young firebender she had fallen in love with, had been forced to join a triad to pay off his family's debt. Things hadn't turned out well, for he had severed all ties with Kairi temporarily to keep her safe and when she next heard about him, the Equalists had robbed him of his bending and had condemned him to death, albeit unknowingly; his own triad had killed him upon discovering he was useless, so as to ensure the safety of their secrets. Since then, Kairi had been determined to help bring down the bending triads. And thus, she found herself on the outskirts of the city, stealing through the early morning darkness towards an abandoned little house.

The house was empty as it always was when Kairi entered. Making her way past the old kitchen and the sitting room, she slipped into the cellar, taking the stairs two at a time before coming to stop at the far wall. She pressed her hand against a slab of stone and the wall slid back to reveal a secret passageway and she descended into the secret room where several other members had already assembled.

"Glad you made it," a young woman said, laughing at Kairi. Her hazel eyes were twinkling and her lips were turned up in a smile. "I thought you'd miss this one."

"I almost did," Kairi admitted. "I told my parents I was running some errands for my boss, which isn't a complete lie. But I did have to lie to Keera."

The girl bristled at the waterbender's name. "So what?"

"Mei-Li, you can't keep acting like this. Keera's my sister."

"So?"

Kairi took a box from her friend and placed it on the floor. "What did she ever do to you?"

Mei-Li frowned. "It's just…"

"It's because she's a bender, isn't it?"

Mei-Li sighed and bent down to open a crate. "It's complicated," she said, narrowing her eyes and glaring at the floor.

Kairi frowned. "No, it isn't. You just don't like her because she's a bender and your brother's in love with her; you don't like her because he does."

"Chang's an idiot anyway," Mei-Li said. "I don't know what he sees in her."

"Mei-Li…"

"Look, you're either with benders or against them," she said, tucking a strand of her brown hair behind her ears and narrowing her eyes at Kairi. "You have to pick, Kairi."

"No, I don't," was Kairi's response.

Mei-Li didn't say anything and opened another crate.

"So, what exactly are these for?" Kairi wondered, holding up a giant mechanized glove.

Mei-Li shrugged and stuffed one into her bag, before handing one to Kairi to keep. "Rumor has it Amon's planning something big. The other chapters have been given all sorts of new equipment to take down benders."

"You think he'll really be able to get rid of bending?"

"Probably. I mean, these weapons are top-notch. Mr. Sato helped finance and build them, or so I'm told. Either way, with these, we can take down benders for good."

"But he won't be able to get rid of everyone's bending," Kairi objected. "I mean, there's bound to be people who resist and try to escape and stuff."

"If he can't take their bending away, he might just kill them. I don't know."

"Kill them?" Kairi repeated, incredulously. "You really think he'd do that?"

Mei-Li shrugged. "Hard to say. Who knows?"

Kairi bit her lip, her mind working furiously. She'd only seen Amon once, at an Equalist rally, and he hadn't interacted much with the various underground chapters for her to really know what he would and wouldn't do. But she sincerely hoped he wasn't the type to kill those who didn't join forces with him or resist him because she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Keera never would. Waterbending was everything to Keera; she had even claimed once that she would choose her bending over her family ("it's complicated").

"So, what if someone would rather die than have their bending taken away?" Kairi wondered, opening another crate and handing some devices to be sorted and put away to another member.

"I told you, I really don't know," Mei-Li said. "Amon might just kill them or he might not. It's hard to say. Although, if a bender probably willingly gave up their bending…" She broke off laughing. "Listen to me. A bender willingly giving up their bending? I must be out of my mind. No bender would. It's like my parents always say: the only good bender is a dead one."

"But what if one did?" Kairi said, ignoring the last remark. "What if a bender asked to have their bending taken away? Would Amon do it?"

"Oh, he'd do it, alright," a burly man said, nodding at Kairi. "Last week, one of them power plant workers came running to Amon begging to have his bending taken away. Wouldn't say why, but he did say it was a curse and asked to have it taken away and Amon did."

"Whatever happened to the man?" Kairi wondered.

"Amon let him go. Chap couldn't find a job, so he works for the Equalists now. He's been helping Mr. Sato out with various jobs."

"Then I guess it's possible after all," Mei-Li said. "Now if only there was a bender who'd submit willingly. Wouldn't that be great?"

But Kairi wasn't paying attention. Her mind was occupied with other matters and she was in a pensive mood all day long. The thought of Amon killing those who didn't submit scared her. She knew for a fact Keera would never give up her bending, even if it cost her her family. Keera had always been a bright girl and she wasn't stupid by any means, so Kairi never understood how her sister could say such a thing. The subject had only been broached once, long ago, but she knew Keera had meant it. Having Keera willingly give up her bending would probably require nothing short of a miracle. If what Mei-Li said was true, then Amon would no doubt dispose of the waterbender. But Kairi hoped for her sister's sake, that it wouldn't come down to that. She couldn't imagine life without Keera and though she believed in the Equalist movement, she had no desire to lose her sister to its leader. If such a thing were to happen, where Amon would give orders to eliminate those who resisted him, there had to be a way to save her family. Kairi wasn't too worried about her parents; her father was already a supporter and would probably willingly give up his bending if it was a choice between life and death, and her mother hardly used her waterbending anymore. In any case, she was a docile sort of woman and easily persuaded so if the situation became a reality, she could be easily persuaded to give up her bending. Keera was the only problem, and what to do with her plagued Kairi all day long.

It was the same thought plaguing her mind as she made her way home that evening. The sky overhead was slowly changing colors and the sun was beginning to set as Kairi walked through the Park slowly, watching the people she passed. She had told her parents not to expect her home until dinner and she had some time before she had to go home yet, so she decided to walk to clear her mind. And it seemed to be working, until she stumbled across Keera and Chang in the park, sitting by one of its numerous ponds and chatting. They couldn't see her from where she was, but she could see and hear them.

"Will you come over for dinner tonight?" Chang was asking.

Kairi smiled and silently cheered. She liked Chang. He was a handsome young man, smart, funny and extremely kind. He always brought something for her whenever he visited Keera, even if was something small, like a flower, and he got along very well with the rest of their family. He had a warm personality and it was very hard to dislike him; Ling had been determined to hate him since he started spending time with Keera, but after a week, he had given up. The first time Kairi had seen Chang had been the first time Mei-Li had walked to her house; he hadn't wanted his little sister walking alone and walked with her, more for company's sake than to protect her. That was the first time he had seen Keera too and it must have been love at first sight because he'd been mesmerized by the young waterbender and it wasn't long before they'd become a couple. Keera saw him nearly every day and it wasn't long before Kairi and her younger brother placed bets as to when she'd get engaged. Kairi hoped her sister would accept the dinner invitation (and secretly wished it would be followed by a proposal from Chang), but Keera's words drove the idea out of her mind.

"I shouldn't," Keera said, sighing and tossing a pebble into the pond. It skimmed the surface of the pond before dropping in and causing ripples in the water. "Your parents…"

Kairi frowned. It was well known that Chang's parents were the old-fashioned sort; she'd heard it often enough from Mei-Li. They were an arrogant couple, both nonbenders, whose only goal was to see their children married to nonbenders so as to keep the family bloodline "pure." According to Mei-Li, they'd made a fuss when Chang had revealed his love for Keera, but hadn't stopped him from dating her. Mei-Li, however, had told her that they'd already planned an arranged marriage, something practically unheard of these days, to an Earth Kingdom girl and Kairi sincerely hoped it wasn't true. She'd already lost the love of her life, but she saw no reason Keera should too. In any case, she was hoping that Chang's parents would change their mind after they saw Keera, but it didn't seem like a meeting was going to happen.

"Don't worry about my parents," Chang said, lacing his fingers with hers. "They'll love you."

Keera just smiled wistfully. "Maybe some other time. I have to go home now though." And giving him a quick kiss, she was gone. Kairi followed her, but Keera was too lost in thought and took no notice of her until she had entered the house.

"You're back?" She asked. "I thought you were working the night shift at your job."

"Change of plans," Kairi lied. "I have a couple of days off."

"Really?" Keera asked, grinning. "So do I."

"Y-you do?"

Keera nodded. "Our manager was injured by Equalists chi blockers this afternoon. I heard he's lost his bending and he's gone to see the healers. It looks like I'm out of a job until he gets things straightened out."

"Oh."

"You wouldn't mind telling Amon to go easy on us working people, would you?" Keera joked as she slipped into her place at the dinner table.

Kairi laughed sheepishly. "I'll see what I can do. Did you see Chang today?"

An odd expression worked its way across Keera's face and her blue eyes lost their twinkle. "I did," She replied, glancing down at her food and picking at it. Kairi noticed the faintest blush on her face and said no more until after dinner when she and Keera were perched high in the branches of the old tree on their property and staring out at the darkened waters of Yue Bay. Their house wasn't all that close to the harbors, but the Bay was visible from where they sat in the tree. Miles away, the lights of Air Temple Island twinkled erratically like stars amid a sea of inky blackness and the statue of Avatar Aang towered over the Bay like a guardian of the night. Keera sighed and stared at the massive statue in the distance.

"What do you think Avatar Aang would say now, if he saw the city like this?" Keera wondered.

Kairi shrugged. "Hard to say. He probably wouldn't be too happy to see all his hard work go to waste."

Keera just hummed in reply.

"She's here you know," the waterbender said, suddenly.

"Who is?"

"Korra. _Avatar_ Korra."

"Have you seen her?" Kairi wondered, glancing at her sister.

"Once," Keera admitted, plaiting her long hair and tossing her braid over her shoulder.

"Did she recognize you?"

"I don't think she saw me."

"Oh," was all Kairi said. They'd only met the Avatar once, a long time ago in the South Pole. They'd been sent outside to play when they'd stumbled upon the six year old Avatar. Of course, they hadn't the slightest idea who she was and she'd simply introduced herself as Korra, mentioning nothing about being the Avatar. Keera had taken it upon herself to include her in their play and they'd been having a wonderful snowball fight until the White Lotus sentries showed up and reprimanded Korra for sneaking away from the compound. Saying they had been shocked to discover her true identity was an understatement but they hadn't had much time to confront her about it, before she was led back to the training compound. That was the last the twins had seen of her.

"How are you holding up?" Keera asked, suddenly. "I know today mustn't have been an easy day for you."

Kairi's green eyes flicked to her sister and widened in surprise. "You remembered? I didn't think anyone did. I hardly remembered until you mentioned it just now; I've been trying to forget."

"Murder isn't easy to forget."

"No," Kairi agreed. "It isn't." She was silent for a while before speaking. "I miss him."

"I know you do," Keera replied, softly. "But, if it's any consolation to you, you know that he loved you." Kairi said nothing and Keera spoke again in a few minutes. "Would you have married him?"

"You mean if that waterbender hadn't killed him?" Kairi asked bitterly, remembering how the bender had hurt and suffocated Yuan in front of her before tossing his corpse to her. For a moment, her green eyes seemed to glow with hate, but then they dulled and she sighed. "In a heartbeat, if he had asked. If Yuan were still alive, I'd have done anything for him." She unconsciously sighed again. Thinking about Yuan was never easy; all she could remember was the way his amber eyes shone and the way he smiled at her as his blood stained her clothes and he whispered his last words. _I love you, Kairi._

"It'd have been hard," Keera said. "Marrying a bender."

"What makes you say that?"

"The Equalists aren't exactly making it easy."

"The Equalists? What about benders? Are the benders making anything easy?"

"No."

"Then why are you blaming us?"

Keera regarded her sister with a quizzical expression. "So," she said, drawing up her knees and wrapping her arms around them. "You've chosen a side, then? You're one of them?"

"What?"

"An Equalist."

"I…guess," Kairi replied.

"A house divided cannot stand," Keera quoted, sagely.

Kairi groaned. "Not you too. Look, not everyone has to pick a side, you know?"

"They will, soon enough. The tension's already escalated."

"Keera…"

"What do you do at your secret meetings?"

Kairi shrugged. "Nothing really. Just sort stuff out and talk."

"Amon hasn't ordered you to take away anyone's bending?"

"He doesn't interact with us much. We're one of the smaller chapters."

"Oh. So…have you ever taken away someone's bending?"

"No, but I've seen people do it."

"Do you like it?" The waterbender asked, quietly.

"Like what?"

"Being an Equalist, taking a person's bending away."

"I haven't done any of that."

"But you will, eventually…right?"

"If I have to, then I will."

Keera averted her gaze. "Be careful. You don't know what you're doing."

"I can handle myself, thank you very much."

"I meant if you take a bender's bending away. It's worse to condemn them to live a life without bending than to kill them."

"What? That's not true."

"You don't understand," Keera said, looking down. "Not everyone feels the same way about losing their bending. Bending is like second nature for most benders. If you take that away, you've condemned them. Some might actually prefer to be killed than to lose their bending…like me."

Kairi inhaled sharply. "Why on earth would you…?"

"You don't understand," Keera said.

"Because you won't let me," Kairi replied, sighing. "If you'd only tell me why…"

"I can't," Keera insisted. "Trust me." She clambered down the tree without another word and headed off for the far end of the estate.

"Where are you going?" Kairi wondered.

"Waterbending practice," Keera said tiredly, hoisting herself over the wall that ran along the estate. She paused on the ledge and turned to look at Kairi, who noticed the waterbender suddenly looked a lot paler. "I'll be back soon." And with a wave, Keera jumped down and disappeared from sight.

The creek was a little ways from the house and Keera was there in no time. A gentle breeze was whispering unintelligibly and a crescent moon hung low in the night sky flecked with stars. Keera spent a few minutes watching the stars before gazing at her reflection in the water. Kneeling down by the bank, she scooped up some water and gently rubbed away the make up on her face. When she was done, the reflection of a peaky, tired girl stared back at her. She hated that she had to conceal herself with make-up, but there was no other way to hide how pale she was becoming. She couldn't afford to let her secret out now, not after she'd been keeping it for all these years, just as her mother had instructed.

"I thought I might find you out here."

All thoughts of the secret forgotten, Keera whirled around to find Chang standing behind her. His green eyes were twinkling and he was smiling as he stared at the waterbender bathed in the silver moonlight with strands of her raven black hair blowing in the wind.

"You found me," Keera said simply, smiling a little.

"I missed you," Chang admitted. "Even though I saw you a few hours ago."

Keera simply laughed as he slipped his hand into hers.

"Were you waterbending?" Chang asked, glancing at her.

Keera shook her head and tucked a strand of her hair back into her braid. "No. I was…"

She stopped before she gave too much away. For a moment, Chang didn't say anything. Suddenly, he took both her hands in his and turned her to face him.

"Are you okay, Keera? You look tired."

"Fine," she replied, dismissively. Chang looked less than convinced, but didn't press her on the subject.

"Nice night, isn't it?"

Keera nodded, wordlessly.

"Where's Kairi?"

"Home. I didn't ask her to come because I didn't think she'd be in the mood seeing as how today is…"

"The day Yuan died," Chang finished, frowning. "Oh."

Chang had only met Yuan once, but he'd liked the young firebender who, with his amber eyes, jet black hair and upbeat attitude, reminded him much of his deceased childhood friend. Yuan had moved to Republic City from the Fire Nation when he was sixteen to try out for a pro-bending team and it had been at the arena that Chang had met him. Yuan had been on his way out and Chang had just finished talking to the manager about a prospective job when they'd met. They'd exchanged pleasantries and engaged in small talk before realizing that they both knew the twins and Chang had looked forward to getting to know the young firebender better. But the next time he asked after him, Keera had revealed he'd joined a bending triad to pay off debts and been murdered after losing his bending. It wasn't something Chang liked to think about.

"Is Kairi okay?"

"She seems okay," Keera answered. "She misses him, but she's much better than last year; she was a wreck then and getting her to do anything was a chore."

"Oh. I'm so sorry," Chang said.

"I am too," Keera admitted. "I liked Yuan and he and Kairi were perfect together. I really think he was going to ask her to marry him."

"Would she have said yes?"

Keera nodded. "She told me she would have."

"Would you have said yes?"

"If Yuan asked me to marry him? What…?"

"Not Yuan, silly," he said, a ghost of a smile playing across his lips. "Me."

Keera quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Marry me?" He wondered, his lips ghosting over hers as he slipped a betrothal necklace into her hand. Keera's eyes widened and she stared down at the necklace reposing in her palm. The cool stone with the Water Tribe insignia seemed to burn into her hand and she quickly handed it back to Chang, turning away and crossing her arms.

"I can't," she replied hollowly, forcing back her tears.

Chang looked thunderstruck. "Why not?"

"I just can't; I can't explain. It's better this way, Chang. Trust me."

And giving him a quick kiss, she ran off in the direction of the house.

By the time she returned home, everyone had gone upstairs save for Kairi who was just getting off the phone with Mei-Li. She looked up as she heard the front door shut and gasped when she saw Keera's pale form trudging through the entryway into the sitting room.

"Keera, what on earth happened to you?" She demanded, springing out of her seat and rushing over to her sister. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," Keera sighed. "Really, I am."

"Have you seen yourself? You look like a spirit."

"Don't worry about me."

Kairi frowned, but didn't push her on the subject. "I just got off the phone with Mei-Li. Apparently, Amon has something big planned to get rid of benders. Promise me you won't sneak out at night anymore to practice waterbending?"

Keera's blue eyes widened with surprise and she looked at her sister. "What? No!"

"Keera, if the Equalists find you…"

"They won't find me," she snapped. "No one ever does."

"You don't know that."

"I've been sneaking out for the past ten years to practice."

"They'll hurt you, Keera. They'll kill you if they want."

"It wouldn't make a difference," she muttered, glaring at the floor. Kairi didn't hear her.

"I'll tell Mom and Dad if I have to," Kairi threatened. "Ever since we moved here, you've picked up all these weird habits like sneaking out to practice bending, making excuses like Mom doesn't want you to practice waterbending, and being secretive. I put up with it long enough. If you don't stop…"

Keera, if it was possible, became paler. For a split second, Kairi thought her sister might faint but Keera did nothing of the sort. Her blue eyes, once full of life but now dull, stared back at Kairi as if trying to see how far she'd really go.

"Promise me you won't sneak out," Kairi tried again.

Keera turned away. "I can't," she said, slipping up to her room. "I'm sorry."

Kairi sank back down and sighed. Keera was stubborn and once her mind was made up, there was no changing it. But Kairi was scared. Mei-Li had been so happy on the phone, rambling about how Amon's plans would bring equality in a matter of days and how the bending establishment would fall, but she knew Keera would kill herself before she gave up her waterbending. She didn't want it to come to that, but Keera's odd behavior lately had convinced her that her sister would actually do it, rather than lose her bending.

"That girl is going to kill herself one of these days," Kairi muttered, turning off the lamps and heading up to her room. She stopped at the closed door of Keera's room and was mildly surprised to hear the muffled sounds of crying. She knocked on the door and heard shuffling on the other side, before Keera opened it.

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked again, stepping into her sister's room and closing the door behind her so no one else would overhear.

"Stop asking. I'm fine."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Kairi didn't look convinced. "I know you're lying."

"So?"

Kairi didn't say anything, but changed the subject instead. "So, um… Mei-Li told me something."

"What?" Keera asked dully, sitting on her bed and drawing her knees up. Kairi sat down on the window seat and absently twirled a strand of her hair.

"She said Chang snuck out of the house to see you."

Keera nodded. Kairi beamed and went to take a seat by her.

"So," she said, smiling at the waterbender. "Let me see it."

"See what?" Keera asked, taken aback.

"Your betrothal necklace, silly. Chang did propose to you, didn't he? I mean, he must have by now."

"W-what?" Keera stammered, blushing. "He did not.""

"Liar," Kairi laughed. "He did. I know he did."

"He…might have," Keera admitted, shifting her gaze to the floor.

"Can I see your betrothal necklace?" Kairi pleaded.

Keera simply turned away and hung her head.

"You turned him down?" Kairi gasped. "Keera…"

"It's better this way," the waterbender said.

"Why? _How_?"

"Chang's parents would never accept me, for one thing and…"

"Is that why you turned him down?" Kairi wondered. "Because his parents don't like benders?"

"No, that's not…"

"Forget it." Kairi stood up and made her way to the door, pausing in the entryway. "I really hope you think about what you're doing, Keera." And with a sigh and a shake of her head, she was out the door.

Keera slept fitfully that night, but Kairi hardly slept at all. She was awake, and spent the majority of the night listening to her sister's muffled sobs across the hall. Something had to be done; of that, Kairi was certain. But the question was, what could she do? The Equalist movement would soon crack down on benders and there was a good chance Keera could join the ranks of benders who lost their lives to the movement, if the rumor Mei-Li had told her about Amon killing those who didn't comply was true. But Kairi couldn't- _wouldn't_- let that happen. And then there was the proposal. Why Keera had turned down Chang's proposal was beyond her, but it seemed like Keera was afraid of Chang's parents not accepting her. It was well known they had no intentions of having either Chang or Mei-Li marry a bender, but it wasn't like Keera, who was normally unaffected by that sort of thing, to suddenly be worried about it. So Kairi spent the night up staring up at her ceiling and pondering until dawn. As soon as the first ray of sunshine spilled past the horizon, Kairi got dressed and snuck out of her room and made her way to the den, quietly dialing a number on the telephone.

A sleepy voice answered. "Hello?"

"It's Kairi," she whispered. "I need your help."

"With what?"

"Keera."

"What about her?"

"I think I figured out a way to help her."

"What're you going to do?"

"I was thinking of taking her to meet the boss so he can do what…he does."

The voice on the other end perked up. "Oh, are you really going to do it?"

Kairi hummed in affirmation. "I am. It's the only thing I can do to help her."

"You sure about this? A lot could go wrong; I mean, this is Keera we're talking about."

"Trust me. I have everything covered."

"If you're sure," the voice on the other end replied. "See you in a bit then."

"Thanks," Kairi said, gratefully. "I owe you."

The line on the other end went dead and Kairi hung up. Casting a quick glance at her surroundings, she slipped out of the house and into the backyard. Behind the house, hidden deep within the giant rose bushes her mother had planted, was a metallic glove infused with a small device that was capable to rendering a bender unconscious, long enough for their bending to be taken away. Since she had taken one from the last meeting she had attended, she had spent a lot of time pondering just how it would come in handy, but her late night musings had given her an idea.

"Kairi? What're you doing?"

Kairi spun around to find Keera standing behind her, with a puzzled expression on her face. She was fiddling with the end of her plait and her bare feet were wiggling in the damp grass. She looked years older suddenly and something seemed off about her, but Kairi couldn't put her finger on it. But she dismissed the thought from her mind and answered her sister.

"Nothing," She replied, quickly. Keera raised an eyebrow. "What're you doing?"

"I saw you sneak out of the house," Keera replied.

"I wasn't sneaking out," her sister lied. "I just couldn't sleep, so I came out here."

"And what were you planning on doing?" Keera wondered, smiling.

"I don't know. But now that you're awake, would you like to spar with me?"

"I'm not awake," Keera corrected. "And it's too early to spar for me. Waterbender, remember? I like the night best."

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Come on," she pleaded. "It'll be fun."

Keera sighed. "Alright. But if I'm too sleepy to be a good sparring partner, don't say I didn't warn you."

Kairi simply laughed and took a stance, her sister following suit. She hated that she was using Keera's drowsiness to her advantage, but she consoled herself with the thought that what she was doing would help Keera and that it was for Keera's own good.

"How long are we going to have to spar?" Keera wondered, ducking as Kairi tried to hit her pressure points.

Kairi shrugged and jumped out of the way as Keera's water whip hurtled towards her.

"It's way too early," Keera said, yawning and failing to move as Kairi hit her. Her water whip fell to the ground and she shot a playful glare at her sister. "No fair! How am I supposed to spar with you if you keep using your chi-blocking?"

"Oh, like you're helpless without your bending," Kairi retorted, laughing.

Keera grinned, dodging Kairi's blows and sending her sister reeling backwards into the rose bush with a simple waterbending move.

Looks like Sifu Katara was right, Keera thought, smiling to herself. The basics do come in handy.

"Not bad," Kairi said, brushing some leaves off her and grinning at her sister. Keera took a step back when she noticed a strange metallic object on Kairi's arm.

"What is that?" She asked, warily. "And where did you get it?"

Kairi simply held it up. "New equipment we get to try out."

"What does it do?" Keera demanded.

"Enhances our chi-blocking and lets us undo it," Kairi lied.

"Really?"

Kairi nodded. "Look." Without warning, she hit Keera, effectively blocking her chi paths. "Now try and waterbend."

Keera did as she was told, but was unable to summon water from the air. Her hands moved, but no water came.

"Wow," Keera said. "Looks like it really does work. Now can you undo it? I'd really like to be able to waterbend."

Kairi looked down at the contraption and then back up at Keera, a strange expression on her face.

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" The waterbender demanded, taking a step back.

"I…can't," Kairi said, unable to meet her sister's gaze.

Keera blinked and took another step back. She knew her sister was up to something the minute she saw her sneak out. She just never figured it would be this. But, Kairi was standing before her with a small, sad, yet oddly sinister smile and there was no mistaking her intentions. How had it come to this?

"I'm really sorry," Kairi whispered. Keera gaped as she saw the glowing blue orb in the center pulse and before she had time to react, she felt a sharp pain lance through her. The ground rose up to meet her and Kairi flinched as Keera's form crumpled to the ground. The last thing Keera saw was Kairi's worried expression and the last thing she heard was Kairi's stammered apology before she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I'll have the next part up soon. :)_

_~Cassidy Alice_


	2. Part II

_A/N: Here's the second part. I know these parts are all long and I apologize, but this story had a mind of it's own. ^^' Anyway, I hope this part is decent. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Mike and Bryan._

* * *

**Broken Dreams: Part II**

When Keera woke again, she was lying flat on an uncomfortable bed, locked away in an underground cell, lit only by the light of a single, weak bulb. Her head was throbbing painfully and she felt strange, as if something within her had changed. Gingerly sitting up, Keera tried recalling what had happened. She remembered sparring with Kairi and then the strange contraption her sister had used before descending into darkness. But the rest was just hazy, like bits and pieces of a forgotten dream. She remembered a deep, scary voice and various others. Kairi had been there; of that Keera was positive. But she couldn't recall what had happened. Mei-Li, Chang's sister, had to have been there as well; she recalled faintly hearing Kairi ask her something about Chang. Was Chang there too? The thought was too depressing to entertain, so Keera forced herself to think of something else, but all that came to mind was that deep, cold voice that made her skin crawl. She had been semiconscious then and dimly aware of the conversation going on between the owner of that voice and her sister, but it danced just out of reach. Keera sighed in frustration and pounded the wall. The instant the cool surface of the wall came in contact with her skin, it triggered some memory with her. She recalled hands, cold and big, and her sister's voice, pleading for something.

"_She needs help_," Kairi's voice echoed in her mind.

"_And you want me to help her?_" The deep voice had asked.

"_Yes."_

She'd been struggling futilely to free herself from Mei-Li's grip but to no avail; she'd been too weak to put up much of a fight. Bits and pieces of the conversation floated through her mind and she recalled the feel of those cold hands pressed against forehead and her neck and then a sudden strange feeling before slipping into darkness again. The next thing she knew, she was waking up in the cell.

Sighing, Keera ran a hand through her long hair, now loose and free of the plait she had done it into earlier. Her dress was dirty, her feet bare, and she was positive she looked like a mess, but the thought didn't really cause her concern. She needed to get out of this depressing place, but there was no water nearby for her to use. There was a small sink tucked in the corner, but Keera found it was broken when she tried to get water from it. Sighing in defeat, she sank to the floor and drew up her knees, and wrapped her arms around them, wishing she had some way of getting out. Her wish was granted almost instantaneously because in a minute, Kairi was standing on the other side of the bars, with a set of keys.

"Keera?" She whispered.

The waterbender perked up and smiled in relief when she saw her sister.

"Kairi? Thank goodness. What're you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, of course," Kairi replied, fumbling for a set of keys in her pocket. It took her a moment to find the right one, but the instant she had it, she inserted it into the lock and the metal grating swung open. Keera darted out, thankful to be free of that bleak and confining cell, but was surprised when she came face to face with Chang and Mei-Li. Mei-Li was smiling at her and Keera, for the life of her, couldn't figure out why. Ever since she and Chang had started dating, Mei-Li had been nothing but hostile towards her, but now she was acting as if they'd been best friends all along.

"I'm so glad you called me and asked me to help," Mei-Li said, smiling at Kairi. She turned to Keera and beamed. "How do you feel?"

"A little different," Keera admitted. "But okay, I guess. What're you all doing here?"

Mei-Li looked pleased. "Isn't it great?"

"Isn't what great?" Keera demanded, completely baffled. But Mei-Li didn't respond.

"You must be so relieved," she said to Kairi. Kairi grinned sheepishly and glanced nervously at her sister.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Keera cried. "Where are we?"

"Equalist headquarters," Kairi explained. "We…"

"Isn't it great?" Mei-Li said, smiling at Keera and cutting Kairi off. "Kairi had Amon take your waterbending away so you…"

"Amon?" Keera went pale and gaped. "He did what?"

"I only did it to protect you," Kairi explained, hastily. "I…"

"I didn't want your protection," Keera cried, tears pooling in her eyes. "I didn't _need_ it."

"But it's better this way," Kairi explained. "You're safer and you could marry Chang now and..."

"Keera," Chang began, trying to get a word in. But Keera didn't let him finish. Stifling a sob, she turned and fled, not caring where her feet carried her. She was dimly aware of her sister calling after her and the sound of muffled footsteps echoing in her direction, but she ran on, not caring that the cold floor hurt her feet or that several Equalist sentries tried to attack her. She wasn't quite sure how she avoided them, but she managed to make it out of the underground hideout and from there, made her way to the park, before collapsing in a heap at her favorite place, by one of the many duck ponds and letting the sobs rack her body.

It was some time before Chang found her there, huddled under the drooping branches of an old cherry blossom tree, pink petals strewn in her hair from where they had fallen. Wordlessly, he took a seat beside her and waited for her sobs to die down.

"I know this must be really hard for you," he said, once Keera had quieted down and she became aware of his presence. "And I know this is probably too soon to say but, I hope you know that what happened to you changes nothing about how I feel about you."

Keera scrubbed vigorously at her tears. "Did you know about this?" She wondered, glancing up at him.

Chang shook his head. "I heard Mei-Li sneaking out of the house, so I confronted her and about it she said was going to meet you and Kairi."

"Is that why you came?"

"I came because I wanted to see you," Chang said, meeting her tearstained gaze. "And because I had to know…"

"What?"

Chang took both her hands in his and sighed. "I need to know…if you turned me down just because of my parents."

"What? Chang, that's not…"

"Look, I know this is horrible timing considering everything that just happened to you, but I love you, Keera. Not being a waterbender doesn't change that. My parents are planning to have me marry some Earth Kingdom girl, but I want to marry you…if you'll have me."

He slipped the same betrothal necklace he had given her earlier into her hand and Keera felt tears prick at the back of her eyes.

"I can't," she whispered, not bothering to wipe the few tears that cascaded down her face.

"I don't…"

Keera met his gaze, her cerulean eyes dull and covered in a layer of tears. "I love you," she whispered, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "But marrying me would be a mistake."

"Why?"

Keera sidestepped his question. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, but it's for the best. One day, you'll meet an amazing girl and fall in love and start a family with her."

"That girl is you," Chang said, fighting back the lump in his throat.

"It was never me," Keera whispered, handing him back the necklace.

Chang looked at the necklace reposing in Keera's outstretched hand and gave her a sad smile.

"Keep it," he said, meeting her gaze. His eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle and he seemed so depressed. Keera hated knowing she was the cause of it, but she knew she was doing the right thing. "It was always meant for you, Keera. I want you to have it."

Keera didn't say anything, but merely slipped the necklace in her pocket and looked up at Chang. He smiled and she threw her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice thick with tears and muffled by the fabric of his tunic. "I never meant to hurt you, but it's for the best."

Chang gently detached her from him and gave her a sad smile, bringing a hand up to wipe away a few of her tears. "I'll always love you, Keera." And with a quick kiss and one last glance as if to memorize her features, he disappeared the way he came. Keera sank back to the ground and buried her face in her hands, not caring how pathetic she might have looked. And she sat there under the old cherry blossom and cried until Kairi found her, a couple of hours later.

"Thank goodness you're okay," Kairi said, hugging her sister. "I thought you might have tried to kill yourself."

Keera wriggled out of her sister's embrace and turned away. "I have no need to kill myself," she muttered.

Kairi blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Forget it," Keera said bitterly, standing up and walking a few feet away. "Just go away."

"Keera…"

"Leave me alone. Please."

"I'm sorry," Kairi cried, her eyes glistening with tears. "I was only trying to protect you."

Keera whirled around. "I never asked you to protect me," she cried, sniffling and wiping away the tears as they fell. "It was never your job to protect me."

"I know, but…"

"Then why did you do it?" Keera demanded, trying her best to keep her tears in check but failing miserably.

"Because I was scared," Kairi admitted, now openly crying before her sister. "I was scared I was going to lose you. You always keep talking about how you'd rather die than lose your bending and Mei-Li kept saying there was a chance Amon and the Equalists would kill those who didn't comply and give up their bending and I didn't want to lose you. You're my sister; just because I support the Equalists doesn't mean I want to lose my sister to them."

"I've been hiding my bending abilities from lots of people for years. I could have done the same with the Equalists too," Keera said, turning away. "And if they had killed me, it'd have been my fault, not yours."

Kairi opened her mouth to speak, but Keera took off running before her sister could utter a word.

The two sisters didn't see each other until well past their evening meal. Kairi had locked herself in her room and Keera had disappeared from the house altogether, only to return in time for the evening meal, which she ate alone. Her parents and her brother had sensed something was wrong and she'd given them some unconvincing story as an excuse and shut herself up in her room to eat by herself. She was out the door again as soon as her plate was cleared of its contents, and washed and cleaned. After a few minutes of internal debate, Kairi followed her to the nearby creek, determined to clear the unresolved tension lingering between them.

By the time she caught up with Keera, the moon had risen considerably higher. Keera was trying to waterbend by the creek, but it was evident from her disheveled appearance and how wet she was, that she wasn't getting much done. By the time Kairi stepped into view, Keera was sitting by the bank, wringing the water out of her hair.

"I can't feel the water anymore," she said, hollowly, watching a few droplets drip from her wet hair. "And I can't waterbend. I've been trying for hours."

Kairi didn't doubt that. It looked as if Keera had thrown herself into the creek, trying to waterbend. Her dress was soaked and her long black hair was plastered to her back.

"Are you sure pushing yourself like this is a good idea? You look worn out," Kairi noted.

Keera spared her a glare and turned her gaze away.

"It's funny," she said, hollowly. "I spent over a decade learning and practicing waterbending, and it took less than ten seconds to undo all of that."

"I'm sorry," Kairi said. "But it's better this way, Keera, and you know it."

"Is it?" Keera challenged.

"Yes, it is," Kairi replied. "And you know it. You're just too stubborn to admit it. But when you come to your senses, you'll see I was right."

Keera merely looked at her sister and wordlessly stood up and walked back towards the house.

The two were miserable over the next few days, always cold and distant to each other, and constantly bickering if they were together for more than two minutes at a stretch. Keera made no effort to hide her resentment towards Kairi and Kairi made none to hide her bitterness towards Keera. The tension between then remained unresolved and neither seemed willing to be the first to apologize for her actions and so five days passed in that manner. By the fifth day, both of them seemed spent from all the ill-will they harbored for the other, but were too stubborn to be the first to apologize. And so, the morning slipped into afternoon, and afternoon into evening before Keera decided she'd make the first move and apologize.

She found Kairi curled up with a book in the sitting room. She refused to acknowledge Keera's presence when Keera called her name, so Keera took a seat across from her and simply waited for Kairi to acknowledge her. Kairi did nothing of the sort, but kept looking up over her book from time to time. Keera was staring blankly out the window and Kairi couldn't help wondering what her sister was thinking about. She looked tired and was paler than Kairi remembered. Sighing, Kairi closed her book and turned to Keera, but was interrupted by the shrill ring of the telephone. Keera rushed to answer it.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was hysterical. "He's gone."

Keera nearly dropped the receiver as the voice blasted in her ear. Kairi came to stand beside her and listen.

"It's Mei-Li," she whispered to her sister. "Something must be wrong."

"Who's gone?" Keera wondered.

"Chang," Mei-Li wailed, causing Keera to flinch on the other end as her loud voice echoed in her ears. "He's gone. I went out and came back home to find a note on the table."

"What did it say?" Keera wondered, hoping Mei-Li would calm down.

"He's gone," she screamed, causing Keera to jump and drop the receiver. The twins were still able to hear her hysterical sobs. "He just said he was sorry and left."

Keera blanched. "He wouldn't," she whispered, her eyes wide.

"Wouldn't what?" Kairi wondered, suddenly worried. "Keera, what's going on?"

But Keera didn't answer her. Instead, she turned and ran out the front door, ignoring Kairi's calls behind her.

Outside, it was rather warm and a gentle breeze was blowing, rustling the treetops. The sun was just slipping past the horizon, staining the sky red and bathing the city in a reddish glow. Several people were out and about, strolling along lazily, and Keera pushed past them in her haste, not caring who she knocked over. Kairi was trailing behind her, but Keera was running too fast for her to keep up. It was a little difficult for Kairi to follow her, but as Keera rounded the corner and put on a burst of speed, Kairi guessed where her sister was headed.

Keera was out of breath by the time she reached the Park, but she pushed herself and ran on, not caring what passersby thought of her. She had a fairly good idea what Chang's intentions were and she only hoped she wasn't too late. So she ran, as fast as her legs could carry her, down the path, over the hill, under a bridge, and to the little duck pond she and Chang were known to frequent. Despite having guessed Chang's intentions, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

Chang lay fallen, bruised and battered, at the base of the old cherry blossom tree that stood by the pond. Above him, a rope tied securely to a gnarled old branch billowed in the wind and Keera would've nearly fainted then and there if Chang hadn't been alive. But his prospects weren't much better now, surrounded by three burly men who were mercilessly beating him. Keera didn't hesitate to step in, trying to distract the men long enough for Chang to get away, but he was too weak to even move. By the time Keera had realized that, the men were advancing on her.

"What's a pretty, little lady like you doing out here?" One man, a firebender, sneered.

"Came for a show?" His companion wondered, grinning evilly at her.

Out of habit, Keera fell into a waterbending stance as the three closed in on her.

The third man guffawed. "Look at the little lady! She thinks she can take on the Agni Kais. No one's ever taken us, princess."

Keera frowned, realizing the three were one of the notorious bending triads.

"Just leave him alone," she said, glaring at the three benders.

"Ah, so the little lady's in love?" The waterbender rasped. "Too bad there won't be anything left of him to love." His companions snickered. "And too bad you won't be around to watch him die."

"What're you…?"

The ground beneath Keera's feet shifted and she was thrown back as the earthbender manipulated the earth beneath her. The firebender came at her next and Keera just barely managed to dodge his onslaught of fire. By the time she had picked herself up, the waterbender had managed to throw her into the pond. The three laughed as she struggled out and glared at them.

"Come on, princess. Take your best shot," the waterbender sneered. "I bet you can't even…"

Before he could even finish, Keera's fingers had connected with his shoulder and the waterbender staggered back, gasping in pain.

"Why you, little…" He began, but stopped when he realized what she had done. "I can't waterbend!"

"You're one of those Equalists, aren't you?" The firebender roared, roughly shaking her.

"No," She replied, meeting his gaze.

"You bring his bending back," the firebender threatened. "Or I'll burn you here and now."

"I don't know how to," Keera responded, flippantly.

The firebender snarled and his fist became encase in fire. Keera threw out her hands and hit the firebender repeatedly and he staggered back, wincing in pain and unable to firebend.

"Don't just stand there," the firebender roared, glaring at the earthbender. "Get her."

The earthbender advanced towards Keera but before he could earthbend, Kairi managed to find Keera and joined her.

"You chi-blocked?" She asked breathlessly, gazing at the firebender and waterbender who were unsuccessfully trying to bend.

Keera shrugged. "I guess I picked up a couple of things when we sparred."

"Impressive."

Keera shrugged again. "More like dumb luck. I remembered how you disabled me and tried it on them."

"This'll teach you to mess with the Agni Kais," the earthbender hissed, thrusting his fist forward. Keera braced herself for the impact, but nothing happened. Instead, Kairi was slammed against the trunk of the tree and she fell to the ground with a thud, gasping for breath. Hardly a second had passed before the earthbender attacked again, this time, throwing a large boulder at her. Kairi attempted to crawl away, but was too slow. The boulder landed on top of her leg and she heard a sickening crunch. Without thinking, Keera reached for a stone and flung it at the earthbender as hard as she could. The stone came in contact with his nose and he cursed, clutching it as blood streamed down his face. Keera lost no time in hitting the only pressure point she knew and the earthbender made an odd sort of noise before falling to the floor.

The waterbender glared at the twins. "You haven't seen the last of us," he growled. "I'll get you yet, princess."

The firebender spat at Keera's feet before hauling the earthbender to his feet and the three took off running.

"Are you okay?" Keera asked worriedly, kneeling beside Kairi and struggling to roll the boulder aside.

"Aside from the broken leg, doing great," Kairi replied, managing a shaky laugh. "You'd better help Chang. I'll be okay."

Keera nodded, turning her attention to Chang. He was covered in cuts and bruises and a long gash ran down his arm. He gave her a weary smile when their gazes met.

"You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like that," he said, weakly. "You almost got killed."

"Me? What about you?" She cried. "What on earth were you thinking, Chang?"

Chang didn't answer her and Keera frowned, tearing a small piece of the hem of her dress off and cleaning his cuts. Chang winced when she applied water to the gash on his arm and Keera sighed.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "If I still had my waterbending, I'd have been able to heal these in no time."

"It's alright," Chang rasped, coughing weakly and grimacing as Keera applied pressure to his wound to stop the bleeding. "I…" He broke off gasping as Keera gently washed away some blood.

"Hold still," she admonished, ripping off more fabric from the hem of her dress to bandage his wounds.

"Why'd you do it?" Keera asked at last, glancing down at her bloodstained hands and then back at Chang who lay on his back in the grass.

Chang didn't look at her. "It's so hard," he said. "To get through each day knowing that the person you love more than anything, the person you'd do anything for, doesn't feel the same way. I know I've said it a million times and it's probably just as cheesy, but I love you, Keera. And to be honest, I thought you'd say yes when I…"

Keera blushed, very much aware that Kairi was within earshot of their conversation and probably listening. "I told you," she said, keeping her voice low. "I _do_ love you, but I can't marry you."

"Why?" Chang demanded, glaring at the sky as if it was its fault. "Is there some other guy?"

"No," Keera cried. "There isn't; I promise."

"Then, why did you turn me down? I have to know."

"You'll know soon enough," Keera promised, a grim expression on her face.

Chang sighed and his gaze flicked to Kairi. She was leaning against the tree trunk, broken foot outstretched, and trying not to listen to their conversation, but Chang knew she was hearing every word. It wasn't her fault, really, but it still made him feel just the tiniest bit awkward. Shaking his head, he gingerly attempted to sit up and succeeded, with Keera's help.

"It'll be fun explaining this," he muttered to himself. Keera frowned.

"What were you thinking anyway?" She demanded. "Did you even think about how your family would've felt if you'd succeeded, or how your friends would've taken it, or…me?"

Chang sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but Keera never heard what he was going to say. Kairi and Chang screamed her name simultaneously and she whirled around just in time to see the metal blade of a dagger glint in the evening sunlight, before Kairi threw herself in front of Keera. The small weapon embedded itself in her side and Kairi gave a choked cry as she fell to the ground. Keera suddenly felt sick as she watched her sister's blood stain the grass and even sicker when she realized who had thrown the dagger.

"You idiot," Mei-Li hissed, walking into view and yanking the dagger out from Kairi's side. "It was meant for Keera." Kairi gave a small cry as Mei-Li roughly removed the weapon from her side and Mei-Li rolled her eyes. "You always were pathetically heroic."

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" Chang cried, glaring at his sister. "You attempted murder, Mei-Li. If the police find you…"

But Mei-Li paid no attention to her brother. Instead, she walked purposefully towards Keera and forcefully yanked her away from Chang.

"This is your fault," she hissed, her hazel eyes glinting menacingly at Keera. "You drove him to this."

Keera opened her mouth to speak, but Mei-Li continued on.

"What's stopping me from running this through you?" she demanded, brandishing the dagger. Behind her, Chang was shouting at her in a futile attempt to get her to stop while trying to help Kairi. Keera just gaped at Mei-Li towering over her and said nothing.

"You broke my brother's heart and drove him to this. I'd kill you right here," Mei-Li said. "But then my brother would tell everyone and I'd be in jail, so I won't. But, if you ever come near him again, I'll find some way to do it, without anyone ever knowing."

She turned on her heel and strode over to her older brother who was trying to help Kairi.

"Let's go, Chang," she said, gently.

"Are you insane?" Chang cried. "We need to help Kairi. She's losing a lot of blood."

Mei-Li glanced at Kairi's hunched formed and shrugged her shoulders. "She'll be fine. She deserved it anyway."

"How can you say that?" Chang bellowed. "She's your friend."

"_Was_," Mei-Li corrected. She turned to Kairi who was hunched over and frowned. "I told you once before you have to choose a side and judging by that little stunt of yours, it's safe to say you chose the wrong side. Consider our friendship over."

Chang gave his sister a dark look. "Do you hear yourself, Mei-Li? What happened to you?"

"Come on, Chang. Let's go home," She said gently, smiling as if she hadn't done anything wrong.

"I'm not going," Chang began, glancing at Keera who seemed to have recovered from shock just a bit. She gave him a small smile.

_Go_, she mouthed. _We'll be fine_.

Chang gave her a pained look before allowing his sister to help him up and lead him away. The minute they disappeared from view, Keera rushed over to her sister and gently turned her around to assess the damage. The wound was fairly deep and looked immensely painful, but Kairi bore it rather cheerfully.

"It could've been worse," Kairi whispered weakly, smiling a bit.

"Don't talk," Keera admonished, trying to stop the blood flow.

"Keera…"

"Stop talking," Keera snapped. "You'll strain yourself; you need to save your energy." Her countenance faltered and she sighed, closing her eyes. "You are not dying here; I won't let you."

"I know I won't, silly," Kairi said, managing a weak laugh. "You always were a good healer."

"When I had my waterbending," Keera pointed out, cleaning her sister's wound.

"I'm sorry," Kairi apologized. "For being so rude to you these past few days. I didn't understand why you felt the way you did and…I still don't, not really anyway. But, I'm sorry."

Keera didn't say anything and the two sat in silence for a moment.

"Why'd you do it?" Keera asked, at last.

"Are you really asking that?" Kairi wondered.

Keera shrugged. "I just figured since you were so angry at me…"

"That doesn't mean I want you to die. Besides, Mei-Li's always had a thing for knife throwing. She's really accurate. She'd have killed you if I hadn't intervened."

Keera bandaged the wound as best as she could and stood up, gazing at the torn hem of her dress and then at Kairi. "Do you think you can walk on your good leg?" she questioned, helping Kairi up. Kairi nodded, grimacing a bit as she stood, and the two set off for home at an incredibly slow pace.

They days trickled by slowly after the incident in the park. Keera had been forced to quit her job and spent her days at home taking care of Kairi and doing the household chores and other odd jobs around the house. Her mother had found a job to supplement the family income while her father and brother worked longer hours to make up for the twins. That left Keera and Kairi home alone. Kairi spent all her time in her room due to her injuries while Keera was often busy doing household chores. Kairi knew her sister was still having a hard time adjusting to life without her bending, but she seemed to be doing remarkably well, considering how she had acted before. The only thing Kairi couldn't understand was why Keera was suddenly so tired all the time. She often napped during the day when she had the chance and she was becoming thinner than usual, despite eating properly. Kairi wondered if she was still sneaking out to try waterbending because some nights she was so tired, she barely made it to her room. And, Kairi noticed, she was becoming paler than usual. But the most puzzling thing of all was what went on in Keera's room at night. With her broken leg, Kairi wasn't as mobile as she would've liked to be, so she never ventured to Keera's room to see what her sister was up to. But at night, there would be strange shuffling noises and the opening and closing of drawers and closets and such. It sounded like Keera was tearing her room apart in search of something.

Kairi didn't find out what her sister was up to until a few weeks later, when her injuries had healed sufficiently for her to be mobile. She was hobbling around the house in search of her book, when she spotted Keera from the second story window. She was talking to a middle-aged man who nodded every now and then before picking up a trunk and heading off in the direction of the wharves. Keera followed him down the path and paused to turn around. She gave the house a quick glance, before turning around and hurrying after the man with the trunk. Shocked and thoroughly confused, Kairi hobbled down the stairs, surprised to find a note placed by the telephone, in plain sight. Her eyes quickly scanned the note and she reached for the phone, even before she finished reading, her fingers dialing a familiar number. As soon as the call was made, she slipped into her shoes and ran for the piers as fast as her injured leg would allow.

The piers, surprisingly, were mostly empty even though it was only evening. The waters of Yue Bay sparkled like gems in the light of the setting sun that bled vibrant shades of red and orange, flecked with blue and purple, into the sky. A few vessels lingered in the docks, mostly merchant vessels carrying goods to be traded and wares to sell. A lone ship, set slightly apart from the others, caught Kairi's attention and she squinted her eyes, scanning the area for her sister, who she found ascending the gangplank of the ship. Hurrying to the vessel, she called Keera's name and was able to grab her attention just before she boarded the ship.

"Kairi? What're you doing here?" Keera demanded, tucking a few strands of her lose hair behind her ear.

"I saw your note," Kairi admitted. Keera smiled, sheepishly. "You're running away?"

"I…not really," Keera replied. "I…"

"But in the note you said…"

"I'm going home," Keera said, quickly.

"But home is in the other direction. Not here."

"No, silly. I mean _home_, to the Southern Water Tribe."

"What? Why?"

Keera nervously tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ears again, and looked around. Sighing, she addressed her sister.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I guess I can since I've kept the secret long enough."

"What secret?" Kairi demanded.

Keera met her gaze and her blue eyes held a note Kairi had never known them to posses before. The former waterbender sighed again and shifted her position slightly.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

Keera gave her a sad smile. "I'm dying."

Kairi blanched. "W-what?" She stammered, her eyes widening. She gaped at her sister and seemed at a loss for what to say. After several minutes of silence, which seemed like an eternity, she spoke. "Are you really?"

Keera nodded, looking down at the ground.

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone?" Kairi demanded, visibly upset.

"I wasn't supposed to live this long," Keera replied, detecting the faintest of tremors in her sister's voice. She wished she had broken the news to Kairi in another way, but it was too late now.

"You weren't supposed to live this long?" Kairi parroted, glancing at her sister.

Keera shook her head, strands of her long, black hair blowing in the breeze that blew in from the backwaters of the Bay.

"Mom told me she was ecstatic when she found out she was having twins. But, the healers told her one of the two wouldn't make it. Obviously, that didn't happen because…I'm alive, but…"

"But?" Kairi prodded, trying to absorb everything in.

"After I was born," Keera continued, fiddling with a lock of her hair. "The healers told Mom I wouldn't live past three. I was a weak, sickly baby apparently and Mom said the healers were surprised I lived to three at all. They said I should've died when I was just a few weeks old, but I was a miracle baby because I survived. Mom said she was glad, but she never told Dad about this, or anyone, really. Then, when we were four, that's when we discovered I was a waterbender."

"I remember that," Kairi said, softly. "You turned snow into water during a snowball fight."

Keera nodded. "After that, Mom told me she was really worried. She signed me up for waterbending lessons, but really, it was just an excuse to have the best healer in the world look at me."

"But I thought Master Katara did train you," Kairi objected.

"She did," Keera confirmed. "But Mom also wanted her to heal me. She and another healer worked on me every day after practice, but it wasn't any good. It was an unidentified illness and the symptoms were common but persistent. No amount of healing was any good. I suffered from fainting spells, dizzy spells, got sick really easily, and wasn't really all that strong. But waterbending practice helped. I loved it. It was taxing and lots of hard work, but I really enjoyed it. I used to beg Master Katara to train me and she and the other healer would just teach me basics. One day, after pleading to learn some real waterbending, Master Katara agreed to teach me, but under one condition: she wanted me to learn the art of healing too. I was thrilled, so I promised to learn whatever she taught me. But, she was very serious about it. She told me that the sickness I had wouldn't go away and any day could be my last."

"That's awful," Kairi murmured.

Keera shrugged. "It happens all the time. There are so many people, children and adults alike, who suffer from incurable illnesses. I was just one. But anyway, she made it very clear that there was nothing she could do; she had tried her best and several other healers had too, but nothing had worked. So, she told me I had to accept it. And I did. It wasn't so hard, really. I didn't think about it much and being able to waterbend took my mind off of it. And Mom not telling anyone helped a lot; no one treated me like a weak child who couldn't do anything. I hid the truth about waterbending from Mom for a few months, but she eventually found out. She was so worried it would kill me, she told me not to waterbend ever again. I didn't listen; I snuck out to learn and practice with Master Katara and a few other students every night. We practiced our forms and healing, anything and everything we could."

"Why was she so keen on you learning healing though?" Kairi wondered.

"It didn't cure me," Keera explained. "But it helped. She taught me how to use it for simple things, like healing small cuts to healing larger injuries. She said if I practiced hard enough, I could use it to prevent certain symptoms. I worked really hard to become a healer and I practiced on myself and learned how to prevent fainting spells and dizzy spells. Obviously, I had to watch what I did too. If I exerted myself too much, I could have collapsed, but learning how to heal taught me a lot about myself and how far I could push myself without going overboard. By the time I was eight, I knew how to hide all the symptoms from everyone."

"Is that why I've never seen you so sick before?"

Keera nodded, again. "Mom told me she honestly didn't expect me to live that long, so she hadn't told anyone. And when I turned four and was still alive and kicking, she said she didn't have the heart to tell you or Dad. And Ling was far too young to understand. So it was our little secret. I promised never to tell anyone, but I've already broken that promise by telling you."

"So no one else really knows?" Kairi asked.

"No one except Mom, Master Katara and one other healer. And now you."

"Keera, I had no idea. I…"

"It's okay," Keera replied, smiling a little. "You weren't supposed to know. I hid it from everyone and when I'd become too pale, I'd use make-up to cover it up. When we moved here, I still kept up the same routine. Every night, I'd sneak out to practice waterbending, but it was for more than just learning the art; I did it so I could heal myself too. I learned how to stop or work through fainting spells and how to avoid dizzy spells altogether. I learned a lot, so I'm not really sorry I'm sick or dying. I've always treated every day like my last, because it might very well be."

Kairi didn't say anything, but averted her gaze.

Keera paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm sorry," she said.

Kairi gaped at her. "You're dying and you're apologizing to me? I should be apologizing to you. I noticed symptoms: you were becoming paler, thinner, more tired, and yet I never once asked you if you were okay. I never…" She broke off, furiously scrubbing at the tears that cascaded down her face. "I never knew and I…" She trailed off again.

"It's alright," Keera said. "Really. You weren't meant to know. No one was."

"You don't get it," Kairi protested, not bothering to wipe the tears that came. "If you die sooner rather than later, it'll be my fault."

"Now you're being ridiculous, Kairi."

"You said it yourself," Kairi cried. "Healing didn't cure you, but it helped delay the inevitable, right?" Keera nodded. "But you don't have your waterbending anymore and it's my fault."

"Kairi…"

"I thought I was protecting you by having Amon take it away. I thought if I told him you wanted it gone, he wouldn't hurt you or kill you if he actually started rooting out benders, but all I was really doing was signing your death warrant."

"No, you weren't," Keera protested. "I was supposed to die before I was even born, but I didn't. Then the healers told me I was supposed to die when I was three. I still didn't. I'm eighteen now, and still alive. I could die in the next fifteen seconds, or in the next fifteen years; I don't know. Losing my waterbending was hard on me, but I'm not dead without it. You didn't seal my fate by having him take away my waterbending."

"Then why on earth are you apologizing?" Kairi demanded.

"Because I was too focused on it," Keera said. "Waterbending, I mean. All my life, all I ever wanted was to become a waterbending master and knowing I could die any day made me work really hard. That's why I snuck out every night to practice and keep up with what I had learned. And it's also why I always said I'd choose my bending over my family; I didn't expect to live long enough to see that situation become a reality. I didn't mean to sound rude or act superior by going off to practice my bending; I just never expected anything. I didn't expect to find true love or get a job or live this long and because of that, I learned not to want for anything. The only thing I really wanted was to become a waterbending master which is why I made a big fuss about my bending and why…"

"…you told me some benders would rather die than lose their bending," Kairi finished for her.

Keera nodded. "I've known I was sick for as long as I could remember and I've known I could die at any minute, so I've never been afraid of it, really. I've just sort of come to terms with it. But I could never imagine losing my waterbending and being alive, so I always tried to let you know. I know since coming to Republic City, you've changed some of your views on benders and bending, but I've tried to tell you not everyone feels the same way about bending as the Equalists do. For a lot of us, it's second nature and a lot of people rely on their bending to support themselves and their family. But I probably just came off as conceited about the whole thing. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry how mean I was to you afterwards. I really resented you for trying to protect me like that, but it was my fault; you didn't know why I was acting the way I was and I made it that way."

"No, it was partially my fault too," Kairi admitted. "I should have been more rational about it and tried to understand or reason with you instead of doing what I did. I just figured if I had Amon take away your bending, I'd be protecting you and helping you; by having your bending taken away I thought there was nothing stopping you from marrying Chang."

Keera grew somber. "I never turned him down because of that," she said, clutching the pendant of a necklace Kairi had never seen her wear before. "I really do love him and I was thrilled he asked, but I couldn't accept."

"Why not?"

"I just told you; I could die any minute. It wouldn't be fair. I can't promise I've live until a certain age; we could get engaged and I could die before we're even married. How is that fair to him?"

"Keera…"

"And," Keera continued, cutting Kairi off. "What if I don't? What if we start a family and then I die when the kids are very young? He'll have to look after them by himself and it wouldn't be fair. He deserves to be happy."

"But you make him happy," Kairi protested. "He loves you."

"Maybe, but it's better this way. The nice thing about love is that you can always make more. He'll find someone else and move on."

"I wouldn't be too sure," Kairi said. Keera simply shrugged. "I called him here, you know?"

"What? Why?"

"Your note just said you were headed to the docks and not to come looking for you. I was worried you might have tried something so I thought maybe Chang could talk you out of it, if I couldn't."

"Oh," was all Keera said. In the background, the faint tolling of the ship's bell signaled all last minute arrivals to board the ship before departure. Keera sighed and looked at Kairi.

"I'd better go."

"Why are you still leaving?" Kairi demanded.

"I want to go," Keera explained. "I need a change of scenery; maybe going home will be bringing back painful memories, but if I am going to die, I want at least die at home, surrounded by snow and ice.

Kairi grimaced. "That's perfectly morbid, Keera."

Keera shrugged.

Kairi looked thoughtful for a minute before speaking. "If you're leaving, I'm coming with you."

"You can't," Keera objected. "For one, you haven't packed anything, and for another, Mom and Dad will need you, especially since I'm leaving. In any case, Mom's going to need help breaking the truth to Ling and Dad, so you'll have to be the one to help her do that. You have to stay."

"So this is goodbye?" Kairi wondered, glancing at Keera with a sad expression etched onto her features.

Keera nodded, dismally. "I wish I could promise it won't be forever, but I really don't know."

Kairi stepped forward and embraced her sister. "Take care of yourself, Keera," she whispered, smiling sadly.

Keera nodded and returned the hug. "I'll miss you," she said, wiping away a few stray tears. "I promise I'll write as often as I can." She unclasped an old necklace (her favorite, Kairi noted) and handed it to Kairi along with a note. "Give this to Chang for me when you see him." And giving her sister a hug one last time, she boarded the ship.

Chang reached the docks just as the gangplank was reeled in.

"I'm too late, aren't I?" he wondered, gasping for breath.

Kairi nodded, rubbing at her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Chang asked, noticing her muffled sobs.

Kairi's tearstained gaze met his and Chang was taken aback by the sorrow and sheer desperation in it.

"Keera's dying," she explained. "She's been sick ever since we were babies."

Chang staggered back as if he had been struck. "W-what?" he stammered, as the deck hands aboard the ship shouted orders to prepare for their departure. In the few, short minutes they took to prepare, Kairi explained everything to Chang as best as she could. By the time the final whistle on the ship had blown, both Kairi and Chang were reduced to tears.

"I never knew," he said. "And all this time…"

Kairi sniffed, watching the ship slowly pull away. "Keera wanted you to have this," she said, handing him the necklace and the note. The pendant had the Water Tribe insignia on it and Keera's name was carved into the back.

"It used to be to identify us," Kairi said, noticing Chang tracing the characters of Keera's name. "When we were really little we looked almost identical. I have a similar one." She pulled out the chain for him to see and he gave a sad sort of smile before hurriedly opening the note. On the white parchment, written in Keera's neat handwriting, one line was printed.

_My heart will always belong to you._

Chang's eyes went wide and he rushed to the end of the pier. The ship was only a few feet away, so Chang was confident he would be heard.

"Keera," he shouted.

A figure moved on the far end of the upper deck and suddenly, Keera came into view, her form outlined by the light of the light of the setting sun, as her dress flapped in the gentle sea breeze and her loose hair whipped about her. For a moment, Chang was mesmerized by her beauty, but finally said what he came to say.

"I'll always love you," he cried. Keera just smiled and blew him a kiss before waving goodbye. And just before she turned to leave, Chang caught sight of the betrothal necklace he had made for her resting delicately over her collarbone. The pendant gleamed and sparkled in the sunlight as if taunting him, but amid his tears, he smiled. Kairi came to stand beside him and waved as the ship pulled away.

"She really does love you, you know?" She said.

Chang nodded. "I know." He glanced at the note and then looked at Kairi, resolutely. "I'm going after Keera. Are you coming?"

"Don't," Kairi admonished, stopping him as he turned to go. "She wouldn't want you to do that just for her."

"But…"

"I know you love her," Kairi said, giving him a small smile. "And I know Keera loves you too, but trust me when I say she wouldn't want you to throw away everything for her. She wouldn't want you to leave your family just because of her. They need you, Chang."

He sighed. "Alright. But one day," he said, watching the ship sail away. "I _will_ visit her again.

On board the ship, Keera watched the skyline of Republic City drift further away, not bothering to wipe the tears cascading down her face. A nameless feeling stole upon her then, but she quelled it with the thought that she was doing what was best. Around her, a gentle sea breeze was blowing, rustling her dress and tossing her hair about while whispering unintelligibly in her ears. The smell of salt water as it pounded against the sides of the vessel lingered heavy in the air as the ship set a course for the Southern Water Tribe. There was no turning back now. She knew she was leaving behind so many wonderful friends and so many memories, but she convinced herself it was better this way.

Above, the whistle on the ship flared and a bell tolled somewhere. The deckhands and passengers scurried inside to get comfortable, leaving the decks deserted, save for the former waterbender. The sun was still setting, cloaking the skyline in a vibrant red glow and she gazed at it long and hard as if to commit the sight to memory.

"Goodbye," she whispered, to the place she had called home for the last ten years. And, casting one last glance at Kairi and Chang standing on the piers, Keera turned her gaze to the horizon while Republic City and her dreams, now broken and shattered with no hope of being fulfilled, lay forgotten behind her.

* * *

_Thanks for_ _reading and as always, thank you so much for all the support! :) I do have an epilogue, so this isn't quite the end...if anyone cares. ^^'_

_~Cassidy Alice_


	3. Epilogue

_A/N: Here's the last part. It's much shorter than the last two, so hopefully it'll make it a quick read. Hope it's alright! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Mike and Bryan._

* * *

**Epilogue**

_Dear Keera,_

_Hope this letter finds you well. It's been a couple of weeks since you left, so I figured I'd write. Everyone here is okay, but we all miss you terribly. It was incredibly hard breaking the news to Dad and Ling and Mom hasn't stopped crying since you left. We were going to come to the South Pole, but there was a rather unexpected turn of events here._

_You'll never believe what happened after you left. Amon and the Equalists took over Republic City and declared bending illegal. It was chaos. Councilman Tenzin, his family, and Chief Bei Fong escaped when they took over Air Temple Island, but got captured. The Chief lost her bending and Amon nearly got rid of airbending, but Avatar Korra and her friend revealed him as a waterbender and managed to stop him. I can't believe all this time, all of us Equalists were really serving a waterbender. Apparently, he used bloobending to take away people's bending and that's how he managed to take away Korra's bending before she exposed him. I know this sounds horrible, but I do have good news._

_Shortly after Korra had her bending taken away, she returned to the South Pole; you may or may not already know this. In any case, she saw Master Katara, but no amount of healing could restore her bending. But, by the time she came back to Republic City she had the ability to restore people's bending! _

Here, Keera paused and gasped.

_I know how much waterbending means to you and I wish I could have sent this letter sooner so you could have visited Korra while she was in the South Pole to have her restore your bending, but this didn't become public knowledge until recently. I don't know if she's going to restore everyone's bending, but it's worth a shot, asking her. Unfortunately, by the time you get this letter, she'll be in Republic City again. On the bright side, though it is an excuse for you to come back. If you take the next ship out of the South Pole, you could be back in time for our birthday. I really hope you come back, Keera. We all miss you very much._

_Love, Kairi_

* * *

_Dear Kairi,_

_I'm still trying to process all the new info. A waterbender and a bloodbender? I shudder to think of everything he's done to benders and nonbenders alike. And Avatar Korra lost her bending? I hadn't heard of that, but I'm so thankful she got hers back. I don't even want to imagine what the world will be like without an Avatar to help keep balance._

_It's really lonely down here without you, but I've adjusted to life down here pretty well. I've made a couple of new friends and met some old ones again, and it's been so nice, but without you and the others, it is a bit lonely, especially since I have my very own little house. It's snug, but it does get a bit boring sometimes._

The next few lines of Keera's letter had been crossed out multiple times, so that reading over them was impossible. The letter picked up again on a different note.

_I promised myself I wouldn't ask, but how is Chang? Is he doing alright and more importantly, does he forgive me for what I've done? I really wish things had turned out differently, but I think I can die happy if I know he's forgiven me._

_As for returning to Republic City in time for our birthday, I don't think I can, but if there's even the slightest chance I can see you all again and have my bending restored, I'm willing to take it. The next ship doesn't leave for some time and our birthday is two days away. I won't make it back in time, but I will be there soon. I'm really looking forward to seeing you all again. I can't wait._

_Love, Keera_

Kairi smiled to herself, rereading the letter before hastily writing and sending her reply. It took a day for the letter to be delivered by messenger hawk and then an actual messenger, but Keera had the letter in her hands by nightfall the next day. She spent the night up, reading and rereading the letter (which contained a great deal of information about Chang) and formulating her reply. By the time she had finished, it was late into the night. Sealing the letter and setting it aside, she made her way to bed, suddenly feeling rather tired. In the silence of the night, a bell tolled the hour and with a pang, Keera realized it was past midnight. She and Kairi were now nineteen and she had made it through another year. As the bells pealed, she crawled into bed, listening to their echoes ring out in the silence of the night. When the last echo had faded, she blew out the lamps.

"Happy birthday, Kairi," Keera said softly, glancing out the window at the full moon suspended like a pearl in the sky. With a content sigh, she fell into a peaceful slumber with a smile on her face.

She never woke up after that.

It was many weeks before Kairi learned what had happened via a letter from an old family friend in the South Pole. The truth came as a shock to her and she had been so distraught at the news, she hadn't even found the words to tell her parents, but they had shared many tears in the weeks following Keera's departure. But, as the cycle of the seasons continued, life for Kairi and her family did too.

Ten years later, after time had changed Republic City and eased the rift between its citizens, Kairi found herself on the threshold of a snug little house built in the newer sector of the city. She spent a moment on the steps, gazing up at the edifice and wondering if she'd have been in the same spot, but as a sister-in-law, had things turned out differently. She wasn't given long to ponder, however, for a middle-aged woman ushered her in as soon as she was spotted and she was led into a tidy sitting room where she found Chang, sitting on the settee with his head in his hands. Wordlessly, she took a seat beside him and they sat in silence for a while before Kairi finally spoke.

"She'll be alright, you know," she said, gently. "Everything will be okay."

Chang sighed. "I hope so. It's been a tough nine months for Hana and the doctors were convinced there would be complications and…" He sighed and flinched when a thin scream echoed from the bedchamber.

"Hana will be fine," Kairi reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They both will."

Chang gave her a small smile. "Happy birthday, Kairi. I'm sorry I dragged you away from your birthday celebration."

"You didn't. I don't celebrate my birthday anymore, really. Not after what happened ten years ago...and I wanted to be here."

Chang nodded understandingly. "I miss her," he said, softly. "So very much."

Kairi fought back tears and nodded. "Me too. It looks like your baby and I will share a birthday, though."

"Sometimes," Chang said sadly, looking down. "I feel as if I'm being unfaithful. I love Hana and she's such an amazing woman, but she's not…it's not the same. I keep imagining what life would have been like with Kee- _her_ and I always feel bad. I've been happily married for five years and my wife is having a baby right now and all I can think about is…" He trailed off and Kairi just gave him a small smile.

"It's alright, Chang. You're not being unfaithful at all. In any case, Hana knows everything and she understands."

"But still," he protested. "I can't help but feeling that I…"

"Don't," Kairi admonished. "You haven't done anything wrong, so stop blaming yourself."

"You don't understand, Kairi. _I still love her._"

"The nice thing about love is that you can always make more," Kairi quoted. "She wouldn't want you to feel this way, Chang."

He sighed.

In the room, another scream sounded but it was followed by the shrill cry of a newborn. The wizened old midwife scurried out of the room, soothing her white hair as she beckoned Chang and Kairi in.

"Master Chang, you have to see this."

Tentatively, Chang stepped into the chamber and saw his wife propped up with pillows, cradling a small bundle wrapped in blankets.

"Come see, Chang," Hana said, her eyes glowing. "We have a daughter, a _healthy _daughter."

Chang stood over the bed and smiled down at his new daughter. The little baby opened her green eyes and fixed her father with a smile. Kairi was suddenly reminded of a phrase she had heard her own sister mention.

"She's a miracle baby," she whispered. "I knew someone just like her."

Chang's wife smiled, understandingly.

"What should we name her, dear?" Hana wondered.

Chang gently stroked his daughter's black hair and thought. Suddenly, an odd look crossed his face and his hand went to his pocket. He fished out an old necklace and gazed at it, tracing the Water Tribe insignia and the characters of a certain waterbender's name etched on to it. His gaze flicked up to meet Kairi's and something unspoken passed between them. Tracing the designs one last time, he unclasped the necklace and fastened it around his daughter's neck.

"Have you thought of a name?" Hana wondered.

For a split second, Chang was reminded of a young woman silhouetted by the setting sun as her hair blew about freely in the wind. Her smile was imprinted in his memory and the image of her, standing on the deck of a ship, her hand curled around the pendant of his engagement necklace was burned into his mind. Amid the tears, he smiled. Hana and Kairi and even the little infant looked up at him as if waiting for him to reveal the name he had chosen.

"Keera," he said, softly. "I want to name her Keera." And his hands curled around an old, faded note whose seven words he had long since memorized.

"I think it's perfect," Hana whispered, glancing down at little Keera who was falling asleep. Kairi fought the lump in her throat and managed a simple "yes."

Sometime later, Chang stood under the cherry blossom tree on his estate and gazed down at the note in his hands. He recalled, with a smile, picnics in the park, fleeting kisses in the dark, moonlight strolls, childlike games and a certain waterbender who had won his heart. His fingers traced the letters of the note and he smiled to himself, plucking a cherry blossom from the tree before letting the wind whisk it away. Folding the note, he placed his in his pocket and watched as the beautiful flower drifted higher on the scented breeze. He smiled to himself and watched the flower go until he could no longer see it.

"_I love you, Keera. My heart will always belong to you."_

* * *

_Thanks for reading and for all the support I've received! I can't tell you all how much it means! :)_

_~Cassidy Alice_


End file.
